The assignee of the present disclosure manufactures and deploys spacecraft for, inter alia, communications and broadcast services. Market demands for such spacecraft have imposed increasingly stringent requirements on spacecraft payload operational capacity. For example, rigid antenna reflector systems characterized by large reflector apertures and long focal lengths are increasingly needed to improve payload operational capacity.
Launch vehicle compatibility is a second requirement faced by a spacecraft designer. In order for a spacecraft to be delivered into orbit, it is necessary to package the spacecraft into a launch vehicle that provide the thrust and fuel necessary for the spacecraft to achieve orbital insertion. The increased performance requirements are only advantageously met if compatibility with conventional, commercially available launch vehicles is maintained, as developing new launch vehicles is prohibitively expensive. Accordingly, a spacecraft, as configured for launch, is desirably made compatible with the mass properties and fairing envelope constraints of such launch vehicles as, for example, Ariane, Atlas, Proton, Falcon, and Sea Launch.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a spacecraft capable of supporting higher-gain rigid antenna reflector systems while still fitting within the fairing envelopes of existing launch vehicles.